FORT MYERS, Fla. - Xavier Avery's sacrifice fly in the ninth inning scored Chris Dickerson, who walked and moved up on Ryan Flaherty's single. No win today, but no shutout. The Orioles lost to the Minnesota Twins 7-1 to ruin their bid for a perfect Grapefruit League season. Jair Jurrjens told reporters that he's still having issues with his timing and mechanics. Does manager Buck Showalter agree with that assessment? "He knows himself and his body," Showalter said. "We're still...

VIERA, Fla. - Because shoulder issues have plagued Chris Young for much of the last few years, it's been a while since he's had a normal spring training. Yesterday, Young took the mound on one of the side fields at the Nationals complex and threw his first live batting practice since signing a minor league deal with the team last week. That's something that he hasn't been able to do this early in spring in recent years, but it was a nice first step toward the veteran right-hander getting...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Jair Jurrjens had an abbreviated outing today at Hammond Stadium. Jurrjens lasted only one inning, walking three batters and throwing 34 pitches before recording the final out. He gave up three runs and two hits - both doubles - and only 13 of his pitches were strikes. Jurrjens, who allowed one run in two innings against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, fell behind six of the eight batters he faced. His fastball topped out at 92 mph, but he mostly sat at 89-90 mph,...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Tommy Hunter's pitching schedule has been adjusted following Tuesday's rainout in Bradenton. Hunter threw a light side session today and will pitch Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays in Port Charlotte. Hunter will follow starter Wei-Yin Chen and left-hander Brian Matusz to the mound. No health issues. Manager Buck Showalter said he expects Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia to take his physical today or Friday and report to the minor league complex in Twin Lakes Park "by...

VIERA, Fla. - The Nationals will host the Mets at Space Coast Stadium tonight, with first pitch coming at 6:05 p.m. Because the game is at night and at home, the Nationals won't have a workout today until 2 p.m. The players not participating in road night games work out at Space Coast Stadium in the morning, but for home night games, the workouts are pushed back to the afternoon, giving everyone the morning off. That includes yours truly. Looks like a late-morning nap is in my...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Jair Jurrjens makes his second spring training start today when the Orioles travel to Fort Myers to play the Minnesota Twins. Most of the regulars will work out at the Ed Smith Stadium complex and call it a day. Manny Machado is making the trip and batting second. Danny Valencia is back at first base. For the Orioles: Alexi Casilla SS Manny Machado 3B Lew Ford DH Conor Jackson RF Danny Valencia 1B Trayvon Robinson LF Yamaico Navarro 2B LJ Hoes CF Chris Robinson C Jair...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles are hitting the road again today, making their first trip to Fort Myers for a 1:05 p.m. game against the Minnesota Twins. Jair Jurrjens will make his second start of the spring. He went two innings Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin, allowing one run and two hits and walking one batter. Jurrjens retired the first five batters and threw 19 of his 31 pitches for strikes before exiting the game. He was thrilled with his velocity, which dipped last...

Finally, a national reporter that took a close look at the Orioles. OK, I'm exaggerating a bit, but it does seem many of the national analysts that have panned the club's quiet offseason didn't ask the club's management or players to get it their take. ESPN's Jayson Stark did. He wrote this piece on Wednesday. Here is an excerpt: Did you know that 32 of those 52 players this team used last season had never played for the Orioles before? Or that this outfit needed to rip through 178...

SARASOTA, Fla. - In his first spring training start of 2013, Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman threw 43 pitches in 1 2/3 innings tonight and was replaced by Daniel Schlereth with a runner on first base. Tillman threw 22 of those pitches for strikes. His fastball topped out at 94 mph and hit 93 mph on multiple occasions. Jacoby Ellsbury took a called third strike to begin the game, but Dustin Pedroia singled with one out and Jarrod Saltalamacchia walked with two outs. Tillman threw 25 pitches...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The search for Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia has come to an end. Urrutia obtained his work visa and made it out of Haiti. I'm told that he's in Miami and will take his physical before reporting to the Orioles' minor league complex at Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota. Executive vice president Dan Duquette confirmed tonight that Urrutia had arrived in Florida. "He needs to get in shape and we need to see how far along he is," Duquette said. "He needs to get the rust off....